


but baby i broke them all for you

by dreamingforless



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, BAMF Narcissa Black Malfoy, F/F, Good Narcissa Black Malfoy, On the Run, Post-Battle of Hogwarts, Strangers to Friends to Lovers, every trope you can think of, i don't even know what this is, settle in for the long haul
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-16
Updated: 2021-02-19
Packaged: 2021-03-17 20:07:39
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,023
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29477463
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dreamingforless/pseuds/dreamingforless
Summary: "I need your help. Please."Narcissa Black finds a mysterious young woman on her doorstep. Deciding to help the young woman turns her life upside down as she struggles to find her place and purpose in a post-war Wizarding World. Everyone has secrets to keep and everyone is looking for a chance at redemption.
Relationships: Astoria Greengrass/Draco Malfoy, Harry Potter/Ginny Weasley, Hermione Granger/Ron Weasley, Narcissa Black Malfoy/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 5





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello hello! This is my first time writing fanfic with this story that has been rattling around in my head for ages. This is my own take on what happened after the war, though the years do roughly add up with the Epilogue. I make no promises for keeping on track with anything canon from this point on though. This chapter starts pretty small but most of the characters will be making an appearance at some point or another.
> 
> Let me know what you think- I appreciate you taking time to check this out!

"I need your help. Please."

Narcissa Black stared in shock as she faced the young witch standing on her doorstep. It wasn't that it was pouring rain and the girl was standing in just a light muggle sweater and jeans. It wasn't that she had managed to make it past the wards that were supposed to repel anyone that wasn't family. It was the simple fact that _anyone_ had chosen to approach the Malfoy Manor and seek the help of its resident recluse that was shocking. 

In the years since the war Narcissa Black hadn't seen anyone other than her son and his immediate family. Lucius had disappeared quickly following the final battle at Hogwarts and as far as she was concerned they had separated that day. 

Now, a few times a year her son, his wife, and now her young grandson would visit her in the Manor, but most of the time the witch kept to herself- isolated and alone. Narcissa had taken to working on the projects she had neglected during her years of marriage and family life. Rather, she had begun working on the things she had been denied for so many years by her husband. She had restored the Black family library and was working on some of the ancient magic research that she had always longed to do. It was rewarding but lonely work for the woman that seemed to seek nothing but peace and quiet in her post-war years. 

But now, after what must have been years of not seeing an unfamiliar face Narcissa had to act. The young woman stood restlessly near the door frame. Her wand was gripped so tightly in her hand that her knuckles had gone bone white and her eyes darted back toward the rolling dark grounds. 

Looking out over the shaking woman's shoulder Narcissa's eyes narrowed as she saw the unmistakeable tips of wands illuminated with a _Lumos_ spell. 

"There really is someone out there looking for you" she murmured. 

"Please. I'll explain everything but I have nowhere else to go" the younger woman implored once again. 

Desperation rolled off the woman in waves as she wrapped her arms around herself. Narcissa felt something akin to compassion that she hadn't felt for a stranger since… well she wasn't sure if she ever had before. And yet, here she was with an annoying little _something_ pulling at her heart.

As she once again saw the specks of light coming as close as the protection spells would allow them, Narcissa nodded. She stepped aside to let the witch enter and the relief of the younger woman was palpable. 

"Don't make me regret doing this, girl" Narcissa spoke icily, watching the younger woman drip rain water onto her immaculate parquet floor. 

"I'm sorry, Madame Black" the woman replied as she followed Narcissa's eyes to the puddle of water that had gathered near her feet, "do you have a towel I could use?"

Rolling her eyes, Narcissa uttered "Nonsense" and cast a hot air charm on the other woman which dried her hair and clothes instantly. 

"Oh right, to be honest I've been in the Muggle world for a bit and I-" 

"I think it's time we got to the point of the matter and you told me your purpose here- don't you think, Miss- now I don't think I quite caught your name?"

"Oh, my name is Aurelia. Aurelia Rosier. I'll tell you whatever you want to know but it's a bit of a long story and I am exhausted. Is it possible we could sit?" 

The newly identified witch was starting to feel like she could collapse at any second. She hadn't stopped moving for days as she had tried to secure her safety. In reality, it had been years since she had truly felt like she could rest. The last few years hadn't been kind to Aurelia Rosier and the last few weeks had been eventful to say the least. 

"Of course, Miss Rosier. I wouldn't want you to think I'm an ungrateful hostess- even for such _unexpected_ guests." 

She held out her arm and gestured for the younger woman to follow her into the sitting room off the main entrance hall. She led the way to a set of large leather chairs near the grand fireplace and sat perched on the edge of the one farther away from the hearth. 

Narcissa took stock of Aurelia now that she wasn't exuding fear. She was older than Narcissa would have guessed right off the bat. Originally she had thought Draco's age or younger but after a moment of inspection she'd say at least a few years older. She had blonde hair with a hint of red that caught the light from the fire and a demeanor that belied an upperclass upbringing. 

Aurelia sat rigidly in the plush chair but leaned toward the heat of the fire. Truly she had not imagined she would make it this far. She had hoped she'd be able to find refuge at the Malfoy Manor but hadn't allowed herself to believe she might actually feel safe. However, when she arrived at the grounds and saw the complicated network of wards and was actually able to pass through them Aurelia gained the first scraps of hope she'd had in years. 

"Now, Miss Rosier- what branch of the family would you be from?" Narcissa began her interrogation.

Aurelia expected this, having a last name like Rosier meant that any other member of a Pureblood house would have expectations of knowing your family. 

"My father was Alain Rosier. He was your mother's fourth or fifth cousin I believe." 

"Was?" Narcissa quirked an eyebrow, "I wasn't aware that he had died." 

Nodding, Aurelia continued, "A few years after the war ended." 

Narcissa was intrigued but decided not to push any further on the issue at the moment. She hadn't imagined that such a distant relation would be able to pass the wards surrounding the Malfoy Manor but it would have to be investigated. Merlin knows that between the two of them Lucius and Narcissa had enough relatives to swarm the home at any time. Not to mention that this was a part of her family that she knew very little about since she wasn't sure she'd ever actually met the man in more than passing. 

However, there was one thing she did know about the wife of Alain Rosier that she had to square away before the conversation went any further. 

"Your mother." She stated simply.

Aurelia's eyes drifted closed and a pained look passed briefly over her face. Losing her father was the latest piece in a life of grief. 

"My mother," Aurelia spoke carefully and with purpose "was many things- unfortunately what she chose to be remembered for was her greatest mistake. Yes- Larissa Malinova was a Death Eater." 

Narcissa had seen Larissa Malinova many times over the years with Lucius. She had been a cousin or some such of Dolohov and had gained favor for being especially good with potions and tinctures. She couldn't say she'd ever spoken to her personally but she knew Lucius often went to her when Severus was unable to help with a magical query. In fact, there had been several occasions in which the Russian witch had caused an argument between the pair stemming from Lucius spending entirely too much time with her- but petty marital squabbles from the past were neither here nor there with the situation at hand. 

"I'm in no position to judge another based on their associations, especially one as unbreakable like a mother to her daughter but I just need to know-"

Aurelia cut Narcissa off by raising her hand and interjecting "I have no connection to that side of my mother's life. I disagree fundamentally with what she stood for and hadn't seen her for years at the time of her death." 

Her death. It was something that Aurelia knew very little about. The few reports she had heard barely mentioned her mother's presence at the final battle at Hogwarts. All she knew was that her mother had fought and perished. Aurelia had already been away from the Wizarding community for years when her mother had died. 

"Is that why you are _on the run_ so to speak?" 

"It ties to one of the reasons, yes" Aurelia continued, "I wasn't sure if I wanted to say this but I don't want you to think I'm exaggerating. Supposedly my mother was working on a project for _him_ in the months before her death. A potion mixed with an incantation designed to cause immeasurable damage." 

Narcissa narrowed her eyes as the younger woman spoke. It sounded outlandish at first but the more she listened to the girl explain the more she seemed to remember a late night in which her husband relayed similar details to her sister. 

"And what exactly does anyone think you have to do with that" asked Narcissa.

"The Ministry thinks I know about her research. Not everyone understands that how closely you can be tied to evil and still maintain your good, right Madame Black?" 

Aurelia glanced up from staring at her clasp hands to look at the older woman. Narcissa was staring at her intently with a cool gaze. She could have sworn the look softened for just a moment as their eyes met. However, it was gone almost immediately and replaced with the practiced look of a woman who chose not to show her emotions. 

"Have you heard of Vilicus Embry?" Aurelia asked, feeling her skin crawl at just mentioning the name.

Narcissa paused a moment then replied, "Auror, right? Unfortunately, our paths have crossed. He's the one after you?" 

From the little Ministry news that trickled its way to her Narcissa knew that there was a small band of Ministry employees, Aurors and the likes, that had taken a special interest in dismantling any networks left behind after the war. She had heard the name Embry as the de facto leader of this faction. She'd met him only once- when he had come looking for Lucius. It had taken her hours of difficult questioning for her to convince him that she had no idea where her former husband had gone. Narcissa had felt his slimy presence in her home for weeks after he had left. 

"He has been harassing me nonstop since he uncovered my mother's plan. Now he thinks it's time to have me holed up in a "temporary home" until they can assess what I know." Aurelia was utterly terrified of the way Embry looked at her when he had her in an interrogation room in the Ministry buildings. 

Narcissa wasn't satisfied with her answers yet and pressed her even further. "How have you managed to evade Ministry so far?" 

Letting out a deep sigh, Aurelia ran her hands through her hair before wrapping her arms around her abdomen once again. This was the long part of the story and she was unsure of how much she wanted to tell right off the bat. However, she knew she was taking a risk even being here and she was asking Narcissa to take a risk as well. 

"I've been hiding in Muggle London for the last year- before that I was in the Muggle United States." Aurelia admitted with some trepidation the location of her life as of late. 

After she had left Hogwarts at the end of her 7th year she had realized that it was unsafe for her to remain in the Wizarding World. Her mother's involvement with the Death Eaters was reaching a fever pitch and her father was nowhere to be found. Rather than risk being forced into a life she didn't want Aurelia felt that her only option was escape. 

Once she had accepted that her mother wouldn't let her leave even if it was to protect her she really only had one option. Aurelia had to go where she was sure no one would ever look for her. The Muggle world was vastly different but it was also seemingly impenetrable for the Death Eaters who could not understand it. 

"Muggle London? You must have been truly desperate." Narcissa chuckled mirthlessly. 

"Embry has threatened to arrest me solely on a familial connection to Death Eaters. Surely you've experienced something similar, Madame Black?" 

There was the weak point in Narcissa's armor. She had been terrified for months about her connection to Lucius and to Bellatrix and what that would mean for her freedom and the freedom of her son. Thankfully, the defense of Draco and his classmates meant that she managed to walk away with little legal damage. She couldn't say the same for her former husband who was facing a good deal of legal repercussion when he was finally captured. 

Aurelia continued, "I don't know anything about what sort of magic my mother was working on before her death but I do feel a sense of responsibility to try and make sure that nothing she did can hurt anyone ever again." 

"And that's why you've come out of hiding?" Narcissa leaned forward to scrutinize the young woman sitting opposite of her. She knew that it was maybe a bit unscrupulous but during their conversation she had been using Legilimency to try and uncover what was really going on. She had sensed that Aurelia was hiding something but she couldn't tell how dangerous a secret she had on her hands. 

A sudden crack of lightning outside frightened the young witch thoroughly enough that she let her guard down momentarily. It was enough of a slip to allow Narcissa a wider look at the parts of her mind that she was hiding. 

Now, what could she see… there! There was the thing she was working so hard to cover.

Narcissa's eyes widened in utter shock as she pieced together the memories. Suddenly Aurelia's caution and Narcissa's need to protect her made much more sense. Narcissa leaned back in her chair and asked with a gleam in her eye.

"At what point were you going to tell me that you're pregnant?" 


	2. Chapter 2

"Shit."

Aurelia slumped back in her chair with a hand resting on her stomach. She had meant to bring it up, to try and make the older woman more sympathetic toward her. But then, Narcissa had been surprisingly kind to her so she hadn't needed to. However, now it looked like Aurelia had been trying to keep it a secret. 

"I've only just found out myself. I haven't quite come to terms with it yet." She decided that honesty would suit her better at this point. Especially since she couldn't be fully honest with the older woman yet- not until she had to be. 

"Your first, I presume?" Narcissa asked.

Aurelia nodded. There had been so many thoughts swirling in her mind since she had discovered she was pregnant. She had still been in the Muggle world, had used a Muggle pregnancy test, had cried to the Muggle woman on the bus on her way to the pharmacy to buy it. And now she was back in the world of magic and had to pretend to make sense of this new part of her life.

"I'm only just 30. I didn't plan for having kids right now" Aurelia let out a deep breath she had been holding as she leaned forward resting her elbows on her knees. 

"I already had a child at your age. Motherhood finds you when it is ready, not when you are." Narcissa spoke gently but her words were sharp. She had had very little choice in the matter of her young life: marriage, a child, and running a household were all that had been expected of her. 

Without warning, Aurelia found herself yawning. Her eyes widened as she exclaimed, "I'm so sorry! It's just been such a long day- week, year? I'm truly exhausted."

Narcissa nodded. "Of course, it _has_ become rather late. I need you well rested in order to continue this conversation. I sense there is much you still haven't told me." 

She rose to her feet and Aurelia followed. Wordlessly, she began a brisk walk back into the corridor and up a grand staircase. After walking down an impossibly long stretch of hallway they reached a heavy oak door. 

  
"You may use this guest suite for the time being. There should be some spare night clothes and toiletries inside. I see you don't have…much." Narcissa glanced at the young woman who had arrived with only a small knapsack. 

Trying to stifle another yawn, Aurelia managed to squeak out, "I don't think I can ever truly tell you how grateful I am, Madame Black. Thank you."

Narcissa looked as though she wanted to speak but found that the words weren't quite as easy to say. She turned on her heel and began to walk toward the other side of the Manor. However, after just a few steps she swiveled back to face the woman once again. 

"I should also think it would be pertinent to do a small medical exam to ensure your health and, well, the baby's. I have some basic medicinal training and I think it would put both of our minds at ease, don't you Miss Rosier?"

Aurelia let the first genuine smile she had felt in a long while cross her face. Narcissa clearly took this as enough of a response and continued her curt exit toward her own rooms. As she reached the opposite wing of the spacious home Narcissa noticed that she had a ghost of a smile on her face as well which she quickly replaced with the stoic look she relied on.

As she entered the room and closed the door behind her Aurelia felt her shoulders slump as she let out a long, shaky breath. The past few days had been unimaginably challenging and strange. She never would have thought she would be standing in Malfoy Manor under the protection of its matriarch. Now, as she stumbled into the bathroom attached to the dour guest bedroom she caught a sight of herself in the mirror and couldn't help but gasp.

The dark circles under her eyes were sunken and stark. Her skin was pale and she was thinner than she had ever been. All in all she looked like she felt- positively at the edge of breaking down. After splashing a bit of water on her face and tying her hair back into a loose braid Aurelia approached a grand armoire carved from dark wood. Inside she found a loose set of pajamas that seemed relatively close to her size and tugged at the hem of her threadbare sweater. As she pulled it up over her head she allowed herself to look down at her still flat stomach and ponder what was happening inside. With a shake of her head, Aurelia pulled on the pajama top and pushed those thoughts out of her mind. 

She settled herself on the edge of the large bed and sank down as far as she could. It had been a long time since she could go to sleep without worrying about her safety. Though she would never admit it, as she drifted off into a dreamless sleep Aurelia saw a glimpse of a certain blonde witch flash through her mind. 

Across the home Narcissa stood in front of a large window nursing a glass of firewhiskey. The storm outside was still raging and she watched the wind whip through the ancient trees covering the grounds. 

Exhaustion was also setting in for the older woman. Before the unexpected rapping at her door she had desperately been trying to compose a letter to Draco that could express how she felt. Narcissa Black was good at many, many things but feeling was not one of them. 

In the nearly two years since her grandson had been born she had been able to see him just a few times. Every few months Draco would bring the baby alone to the Manor to visit. Draco and Astoria had visited once together while she was pregnant but the poor woman hadn't spoken to her mother-in-law once. 

Narcissa huffed as she sorted through the stacks of jumbled parchment she had left on her desk hours before. 

" _Incendio_ " Narcissa pointed her wand at the stack and watched as the were reduced to a pile of smoldering ash. 

One piece of parchment remained that she thought could be a salvageable message to her son. Her eyes flicked down the page as she read through it once again to give herself courage to send it.

_My Dear Son,_

_These last years have been anything but kind to us. However, nothing breaks my heart more than the rift that seems to have formed between us. If I know anything in this world it is that you are the most important thing in my life- you and Scorpius. I only ask that you try to forgive me for the many mistakes I have made and we can start again as a family. And I do mean all of us, Astoria included. Please allow me to make this right._

  
_Love always,_   
_Mother_

She picked up the framed photo of a young Draco on the day he received his first broom. How she desperately missed that carefree little boy. There was an unfamiliar pang in her chest as she placed the letter and the photo back onto the desk. That was all a problem for another day. 

* * *

Miles away in a small dark office in the Ministry offices sat Vilicus Embry. He was a tall man in his early 50s with dark hair just beginning to show streaks of grey stemming from the temples. He may have been considered attractive if it wasn't for the coldness in his eyes and voice. There, hunched over a stack of parchments on a worse for wear table, he scoured the sources for any signs he had missed the hundreds of times before. 

The works of Larissa Malinova had become something of an obsession for the man. After the final battle at Hogwarts he had been tasked with some of the tying up of loose ends. Since the Auror had prior experience with Malinova he had taken her file as one of his cases. He had thought it would have been relatively easy since she was no longer alive. He couldn't have been more wrong.

In all his dealings with Malinova he had never realized she had a child. The Rosier girl was hidden away so well after her time at school that by the time he had been involved it was like she didn't exist. 

After her death Embry had gone to the home of Larissa Malinova where he found journal after journal of recorded works and experiments. They all seemed to be leading toward something in particular though it was clearly obscured for the unwanted finder. What he could glean was that the Death Eater was working on something truly dangerous. It was a magical weapon of mass destruction in no uncertain terms and Embry couldn't be sure how much of the research was done or who had access to it. 

Embry rubbed at his weary eyes as he slumped down in his chair. He had been so close to catching up to Aurelia Rosier before she slipped away once again. He was sure that she knew more than she was telling him. Once he could get his hands on the girl he was sure he would break his case open and finally put this all behind him.

Pinned to the wall directly across from his desk were the cornerstones of his investigation. The first was a Muggle photograph of a girl exiting a London pub. It was a little grainy and taken from a distance but there could be no mistaking that it was the Rosier girl. The second was a piece of parchment ripped from a journal found in the Malinova home. Scrawled in Larissa's handwriting along with a few runes and numbers was the sentence:

_Aurelia is the key_.  



End file.
